The desire to make this sandwich was inspired by ‘The Steve,’ a sandwich described as ‘the brother of The Reuben’ from a vegan cafe in my neighborhood in Sydney. It’s the one thing on the menu that one of my favorite people in the world gets when we eat there.
Unlike The Steve from the cafe, The Andy is not made of faux meat. It’s a tofu sandwich using firm tofu slices marinated, two ways. For our pseudo-Russian dressing, instead of mixing ketchup with vegan mayo, which is usually made with aquafaba, oil and lemon, I went with hummus which has more nutritional value. With or without vegan cheese, the hummus and ketchup dressing, the slight crunch from the sauerkraut, and the juicy slices of tofu make for a satisfying bite. It’s tested and approved by the person I named this sandwich after. (I’m glad to hear that Mabel likes it, too. She has made a dressing variation: she did not have ketchup so she mixed a bit of chili garlic sauce with the hummus.)
The Reuben, a distant cousin
To be honest, I have never tried The Reuben. Its listed ingredients are corned beef, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing (which is mayo, ketchup, and horseradish) and sauerkraut.
To write this, I did a quick search and turns out it has a fascinating origin story with multiple claims. Around the 1920s to 1935, Reuben Kulakofsky, a grocer residing in Nebraska, allegedly requested a sandwich made of corned beef and sauerkraut at the Blackstone Hotel. The hotel’s owner supposedly had his son create the first Reuben sandwich by adding Swiss cheese and Thousand Island dressing All between slices of rye bread. The sandwich gained local fame when it appeared on the Blackstone’s lunch menu. Its reputation spread further when a former hotel employee won a national sandwich idea contest with the Reuben recipe.
Another account holds that the Reuben’s creator was Arnold Reuben, the German-Jewish owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City. Still another version gives credit to Alfred Scheuing, a chef at Reuben’s Delicatessen. He allegedly created the sandwich for Reuben’s son, Arnold Jr., in the 1930s. While the Reuben’s origin story may be up for debate, its sauerkraut and dressing combo gives our Tofu Sandwich, the Andy, a flavorful punch.
Ingredients
- 2 slices of bread (or use a burger bun)
- 3 Tbsp hummus mixed with 1 1/2 Tbsp tomato ketchup to make the dressing
- 2 Tbsp homemade sauerkraut
- 3 thin (1/2 cm thick) slices of firm tofu, marinated using the Tocino Spam Hack recipe for at least 30 minutes
- 3 thin (1/2 cm thick) slices of firm tofu, marinated in your favorite Filipino bistek recipe ratio of soy sauce and calamansi (mine is 5 Tbsp soy sauce, 2 Tbsp lemon/calamansi juice) and onion rings
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
Tofu Spam Hack marinade (good for 1 block of firm tofu)
- 2 Tbsps maple syrup, coco sugar or brown sugar
- 4 Tbsps soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp sriracha (or fermented hot sauce)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Directions
- In a pan, heat oil in low to medium heat. Fry the Tocino Spam slices. Set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté some of the onion rings from your marinade. To save energy (and time), fry the bistek tofu on the side.
- To assemble, place the dollop of the dressing on the bottom slice, follow with the sauerkraut.
- Carefully place the tofu slices on top of each other, followed by the onion rings. Top with the vegan cheese, if available. (We couldn’t help but add lettuce for some fresh greens.)
- Put the other slice of bread on top and serve warm.
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